GLOBAL MARKETS: US employment-related data surprised positively on Thursday, boding well with a rebound in June non-farm payrolls due for release later today. Market consensus is for a 175k increase in the headline following a meagre rise of 38k in May, the smallest gain since September 2010.

GREECE: IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde was quoted saying in a TV interview that in case the Fund decides eventually to not participate in the new programme that “does not necessarily lead to a negative outcome for Greece”. On the data front, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate came in at 23.3% in April 2016 compared to 23.7% in March and 25.3% in April 2015.

SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

ROMANIA: Romania re-taped on Thursday a 10-year T-bond that expires on February 24, 2025. The amount sold amounted to RON 293mn (~€64.92mn) exceeding by RON 93mn (~€20.61mn) that initially planned, while the average accepted yield came in at 3.22%.

SERBIA: At its MPC meeting on Thursday, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) took markets aback, slashing its key policy rate by 25bps to a new record low of 4.00%, confounding consensus expectations that it would stay put on its monetary policy.

CESEE MARKETS: Emerging Market assets were treading water earlier on Friday, as a recent rally ran out of steam, while investor caution prevailed ahead of the US non-farm payrolls report due for release later on the day.